When I was 14 I was on a camp and I was told that in 10 years only 10 per cent of the people on the camp would still be Christians. So when I went home I wrote a sign that said "Where Will You Be in 2007?" in an effort to remind myself to still be a Christian in 10 years time and stuck it on the back of our front door.

I remembered that tonight as many of us sat around following our New Years Day barbecue. And I thought "I'm here." In my family we've been talking about the arrival of this year for a while. And now it's here. I never thought I'd be here, living where I am, doing what I'm doing, but I'm glad I'm still with Jesus.

I'm thankful that I'm still a Christian. I'm thankful that all of my family are still Christians. I'm thankful that most of my friends are still Christians. I'm thankful that more of my friends are Christians now than they were in 2007.

Probably that camp in 1997 set me on a trajectory that has ended me up here. That camp motivated me to see teaching as important for my spiritual growth. It motivated me to own my spirituality. It taught me about the need to hold on to my faith. I think it started a fire in my that hasn't gone out.

It's been a great 10 years.

Maybe there was nothing in those statistics, but they pushed me, and here I am.

Hallelujah.

I wonder where I'll be in 2017...